A Winters Tale
by Consynthia
Summary: During a dull detention, a fourth year and a sixth year meet and romance ensues.


It was late in November and the students at Hogwarts were already looking forward to the holidays. One student, however, was not as excited as his classmates were. Holidays usually bored him since it just seemed to be the same thing every year: A big fancy dinner was followed by a series of goodbyes as everyone returned to their families for the holiday period. It was no different at home except there were gifts involved.

Sherlock Holmes was on his way to the Potions classroom for his detention. He had tried to use liquid death on a particularly annoying student, which had earned him a detention and 50 points taken from Slytherin house. Sherlock was even more annoyed that the student had managed to survive and would still be in his class for the rest of the year.

He walked into the classroom, taking a brief glance at his surroundings before taking a seat near the window. He looked around once more, only seeing one other student with him. She was wearing a Hufflepuff tie which came as a surprise to Sherlock. Hufflepuff's rarely ever got detentions. He was somewhat curious, but didn't really want to trouble himself with something that wasn't really his business.

Sally sat at one of the oak desks with a piece of parchment and a quill, with a pot of ink next to it. On the paper was some neat scrawl which had the words "I must not set my professor's on fire" written over it again and again. She hadn't actually set the professor on fire, it was her friend Cathy who had. She had just taken the blame to get Cathy out of her seventh detention that month. Sally drummed her fingers over the desk while looking out of the window. The grass outside was covered with a crisp layer of white, sugary frost, making everything sparkle in the bright moonlight. She glanced over at the Slytherin who's head was blocking her view of the window and sighed.

Sherlock had a similar parchment on his desk. It had "I will not use liquid death to kill my classmates" written on it many times. He took the quill provided and dipped it into the ink, starting his first set of lines on the blank half of the parchment. He wrote hastily, not really caring and just wanting to get it over with. He heard a sigh come from the girl nearby and stole a glance towards her. Sherlock caught her looking back at him and quirked a brow.

"Problem?" he asked, hoping his cold attitude would make the girl stop paying attention to him.

She gave him a deadpan expression before folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in her seat. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled, gazing up at the vaulted stone that was intricately carved with patterns of dragons, griffins and many other fantastical creatures that Sally could have dreamed of before she came to Hogwarts from her very ordinary life. She blinked before looking back at the Slytherin student sitting in front of her.

"I don't really have any problems, other than the chill that's coming from your direction," she said coolly.

"I can't help what's natural," he said with a slight shrug. "It's not my fault you're sensitive to the cold."

Instead of saying anything else, he decided to distract himself from the annoyance in front of him. He got out a book he had brought with him and opened it up, turning to a random page and reading. Unfortunately the fact that the girl was a Hufflepuff wiggled its way into his mind and he found it rather distracting.

He looked up at the girl and asked, "What's a goody two shoes Hufflepuff doing in detention anyway?"

She looked back at him and played with the end of her hair. She yawned before resting her head on her desk. She didn't feel like she owed the other student an explanation of why she was there, so she just ignored his question. But she couldn't help but notice that he had a very deep voice, which sent shivers down her spine. Or was that his personality?

He rolled his eyes and returned to his book. She didn't have to answer him, and he didn't care enough to ask again. He read until he started wondering if it was the end of his detention period yet. He was getting bored with the book and he had written a sufficient number of lines already. Finally he closed the book and checked the time. 2 hours had passed and the professor wasn't in the classroom.

"I'm leaving," he said mostly to himself, not caring if the girl heard him or not.

He turned and headed out of the classroom.

Sally looked up as he said that he was leaving and shrugged before finishing her third page of lines and leaving herself. She pulled her coat tightly around her before sniffing from the bitter cold of the outside halls. In the courtyard in the centre of the school she saw the same male from the detention with his wand out and a small, tawny owl perched in front of him. Slowly, the owl turned into a glass goblet before turning back into a small owl. She recognised the owl as her own before she walked over to him with her arms folded.

"May I ask where you got that owl?"

Sherlock wanted to do some practice with the new advanced charms he had discovered recently. He needed a test subject however. He spotted someone's owl flying from the Owlery and cast an interception spell to bring it to him. When the owl came close enough, he cast another spell to make sure it stayed in place. Now he had a test subject. Smiling, he went with a simple one just to see how it would react. He turned it into a goblet and wrote down the results on some parchment before turning it back into an owl. Then he heard a voice and turned his head, frowning when he saw the girl he had shared detention with.

"I intercepted it from the Owlery," he replied simply. "I needed a test subject. It's not like anyone's using it, anyway."

She sighed before holding out her arm and the owl flew onto it. The owl rested on her forearm, it's talons digging into her skin ever so lightly. She stroked over the owls head and looked back to him.

"It's not very becoming of you to steal someone's owl and testing charms on it," she smiled bitterly.

Sally let her owl fly back to the owlery before she looked back down at Sherlock. She wasn't impressed that he had stolen her owl to test on before she walked back to her common room.

"I wasn't going to let it die...not really," he said dismally.

He was a little disappointed that he had just lost his test subject but he wasn't going to risk running into her again. He didn't really want to. Sherlock decided to hunt for a field mouse but the sky was starting to get a little too dark to find anything. He stuck his wand back in his pocket, gathered his things, and walked back to the Slytherin common room.

When Sally got to her common room she laid down on her bed in her pyjamas and closed her eyes. Trying to keep her mind off of Sherlock, the asshole that she had met in her detention. Sally eventually fell asleep in her bed, curling up in the bed and breathed softly. Her feet poked out from under the knitted blanket that she laid underneath.

Sherlock read a book until he was too drowsy to concentrate and finally he fell asleep. The next day, he used his free period to go the Library for some studying. He browsed the advanced magic section until he found the book he needed to take notes from. He went to find a table and sat down, pulling out his things and opening the book up to take notes.

After her potions lesson, Sally walked to the library to do some extra work for her charms and transfiguration classes. She looked through the section where she thought that her book would be was and frowned. It wasn't there, so she went to the librarian to ask where it was. The librarian shrugged, so Sally went to search for the book. She found it with the male from detention. She looked down at him sadly.

"Is it okay if we share the book?" She asked him shyly.

Sherlock was just starting a new sheet when the girl from his detention approached. His brief hope that she wasn't planning on speaking to him vanished as soon as she did, and he sighed in mild annoyance. He wanted to say she could get another copy, but then he remembered seeing none where he had retrieved the book.

Reluctantly he said, "Seeing as this is the only copy available, I suppose so. Don't move the placeholders I have set in there, though."

He nodded for her to take a seat.

She took a seat next to him and pulled out her quill and her parchment before turning to the page that she needed, which was one of the pages with one of his placeholders. The page was on how to charm animals to be obedient. On the parchment she began to take notes on the page that she was reading from. Her handwriting was neat, staying straight in the lines but some of her words were more script like as she wrote. As she wrote a lock of her blonde hair fell across the page that she was working from.

Sherlock was a little ahead of her, finishing his own notes about five minutes after she had sat down. He wanted to move on to the next part, but it wouldn't be fair to her. She was already half way through, anyway. So Sherlock decided to read over the current notes he had, making sure they were accurate with what was in the book. As he glanced at the book, he saw a bit of her hair laying on the page.

Sighing he reached out and brushed it away before he said, "Try not to be so annoying."

Sally looked at him as he brushed her hair away from the page and tied it up with the bobble she had on her wrist. She then went back to writing up her notes, she knew that he was waiting to turn the page so she hurried up with her writing, making it slightly messier but not any less legible. "If you want me to be less annoying, I'll just become like you. Stiff as a board and lacking in personality," she said with a smile as she finished her notes off.

He snorted, silently admitting she had some skill with her wit. He was glad for her to finally turn the page and luckily the next one was something he needed to take notes from as well. He started his notes on the page, trying to ignore the sound of a quill tip on parchment that was separate from his own. He glanced at the book to see how much he had to go and was relieved to see he only needed a few more pages of notes.

He paused in his writing to give his hand a break as it was developing a slight cramp. To distract himself he tried to think of something else. He remembered what he had done the day before and had a feeling he should probably apologize.

"I'm sorry for experimenting on your owl," he said a moment later. "I really wouldn't have killed it, however."

She looked at the student and shrugged before going back to writing her notes. She wouldn't have minded him asking to use her owl for experiments, but seeing as he hadn't asked she was not too happy about him using it. She still wasn't too happy about him using it, especially after he had apologized.

"You don't sound like you're truly sorry," she said bluntly as she finished her notes.

She turned onto the next page and pulled out the last sheet of parchment she had brought with her to write those notes up onto.

"Owls are smart animals and more obedient than cats, and I've been banned from going into the Forbidden Forest by the Care of Magical Creatures Professor," Sherlock explained. "I needed an animal. I will refrain from using yours in the future, if that makes you feel better."

She laughed. "I don't blame the teacher from banning you from going in there if you're just going to torture the poor animals!" She exclaimed with a grin on her face.

Realising that she didn't know the Slytherin students name, she placed her quill down on the table and extended a hand to him so that he could shake it.

"Sally," she smiled softly.

Sherlock looked at her in surprise when she extended her hand to him. He hadn't expected her to try to make his acquaintance, thinking his coldness would have driven her away. At least he had a name to match with her face now.

To be polite, he took her hand and shook it before pulling it back as he said, "Sherlock Holmes."

Sally smiled before turning back to her pages of notes and slowly put them back into the leather satchel that she kept all of her books in. Sherlock, an obscure name, for a male that was slightly strange to her.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sherlock," she said with a friendly tone in her voice.

Sherlock nodded with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He wasn't quite done taking notes yet since there was still a page left to do; so he wasn't going to leave just yet.

"Likewise, Sally," he said not unkindly.

Since Sally was clearly done with the book, he pulled it so was directly in front of him. When he finished he would return to his common room so he could practice playing his violin.

Sally watched as Sherlock pulled the book from between them to in front of him with a faint smile, before she noticed that he wasn't wearing a tie.

"You know, you should really wear your tie so that people know what house you're in, Slytherin," she said with a faint smirk on her lips.

Sherlock looked up at her with a bemused look.

"I never bother to, really. I honestly don't see the point. Besides if they want to know what house I'm in, they need only ask," he explained. "Besides I do wear the tie on occasion just as a reminder."

He shrugged after that, still looking at Sally.

Sally frowned at Sherlock, looking slightly confused.

"Why are you still looking at me? Do I have something on my face?" She asked, slightly worried as to why he was still looking at her.

She looked away from him shyly before looking through one of her books that she had bought.

"Sorry," he said looking down at his notes. "I assumed you were going to say something else since you seem to be in a talkative mood," he said. "You have nothing on your face. I would have told you if there was," he added a moment later.

She nodded slowly. "Oh," she said quietly before opening her book to the page that she was currently on and sighed. "You know, you're one of three people who isn't a dick to me," she said sadly before going back to reading her book.

He paused in his writing, his quill stopped in the middle of forming a 'c'.

"You haven't given me a reason to be one," he pointed out hoping that was a decent answer.

He wasn't exactly good with comforting people since he was usually the one insulting them.

"Isn't being in Hufflepuff a reason to be a dick to me?" She asked him sadly.

She felt tears stinging in her eyes but she fought them back so he wouldn't see her crying.

Sherlock frowned in momentarily confusion before he understood. He had always thought the house stereotypes were always silly in the first place. It seemed silly to him anyway.

"I tend to focus more on a person than the house the person is in," he said gently, not wanting to sound cold because it seemed like Sally was close to crying.

She looked down at the table before blinking the tears away. "Well, you're the only one who really thinks that," she mumbled before packing her things away and walking out of the library to go to her next lesson. She wiped her eyes and walked, she didn't really want to go to her lesson but she knew that she had to.

Sherlock wanted to say something more, but Sally was already getting up to leave. "See you around then," he said as she left the library.

He wasn't even sure if he would see her again anyway. He wasn't sure he wanted to either. He shook his head and focused on finishing up his notes. He wrote the last paragraph before packing up his things and returning the book to its shelf. Then he left the Library and headed to his next class which was the last one for the day.

During her lesson, Sally found herself feeling somewhat drawn to Sherlock but she knew that it wouldn't work so she just focussed herself on creating her amorentia which smelled of smoke, coffee beans, fresh parchment and quill ink – hers worked but she knew that it wasn't the best in the class. After her professor had inspected her potion he allowed her to go back to her dorm room for the night. She didn't want to go back there, so she just walked around.

While she was walking she came across a room that had just appeared to her right. One minute it wasn't there, and the next the door was there. Apprehensively, she walked close to the door and it opened. On the floor inside of the cavernous room there was a violin with its strings broken. At the bottom of the instrument she saw a carved word. "S. Holmes", immediately Sally knew that the violin belonged to the Slytherin boy that she had met in her detention. So, Sally walked with the violin in her arms to the Slytherin common room where she waited for him.

When Sherlock returned to his common room that evening, he went to the dorms to get his violin. He pulled the case from under his bed and opened it to find it not there. He frowned and looked around. There was another Slytherin boy a few beds from him and he asked the boy if he had seen his violin. The answer was a no and he sighed in annoyance. He went down to the common room and looked around, asking if anyone had seen it. When there was no sign or word of it, he decided to look elsewhere. He went to the door and walked out of the common room, surprised to see Sally waiting outside.

"Sally? What are you..." his gaze flitted down to the violin in her arms. "That's my violin...where did you find that?"

Sally looked up at him before handing him the violin. "It was in some room, I can't remember which room, but yeah," she said while looking at the floor. She picked at the sleeves of her black jumper that she had pulled over her hands and just looked shy, and young. People who were walking past them pointed and whispered as they stared.

Sherlock wasn't sure what he was more surprised about-The fact that Sally had found his violin in a random room, or the fact that she had bothered to come all the way to the Slytherin common room just to return it. And how did she know he would come back out? She could have been left waiting all night. He realized people were starting to notice the two of them just standing there and spoke up.

"Thank you..." he said after taking the violin.

He examined the instrument and frowned, seeing that the strings were broken. It wasn't anything that couldn't be repaired with magic, however.

"I'm actually a little surprised you came all the way to the dungeons," he admitted. "You could have easily ignored it. So thank you."

She looked up at him shyly before looking away from him.

"I thought that you would be wanting it... So I brought it for you," she mumbled.

She looked over his shoulder at some of the people who were staring at them before looking away. "I think I'll go to my room now, have a good night..." She said quietly before turning away. She began to walk towards the kitchens where her common room was. She picked up a plate of food before going to the common room. She ate it quickly. After she had finished eating she went to sleep.

A few weeks passed, and Sally and Sherlock had been spending more time together.

The day before she had a big quidditch match Sally and Sherlock sat in the courtyard wearing big coats to stay warm.

"Oh, Sherlock, tomorrow I have a Quidditch Match... I was hoping that you'd come," she said shyly.

"Good night," Sherlock said as she left. Glad to have his violin back, he turned and went back into the common room. He went to the dorms and sat on his bed, closing the curtains around his four poster bed and casting a muffiliato spell on them. Then he practiced violin for about an hour before putting it away and going to sleep.

Over the next few weeks he found himself spending more time with Sally. He only did it because the girl seemed so lonely and she seemed to care about him a little. He wasn't quite ready to say that they were friends yet, because even though she had showed some kindness towards him it didn't exactly make them so.

Sally surprised him again when she asked him to come to her Quidditch match. Sherlock wasn't really a big fan of the sport, but he did enjoy it on occasion. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to go see another one.

"I might show up," he said not wanting to give her too much hope.

It wasn't a promise but he was definitely considering it.

Sally flashed him a bright smile, his response made her feel slightly better about the match. Especially knowing that he might be there. The next day Sally walked out of the stands into the quidditch pitch so that she could begin playing. She mounted her broom and flew up into her position above her team, and heard the whistle blow as Madame Hooch threw the ball up.

The Chasers swooped in immediately as each Keeper went to their respective posts. Slytherin took possession of the ball first and two Hufflepuff's went after the player with the quaffle. The bludgers were released a few seconds into the game and they were already zooming around the field. The beaters on both teams did their jobs and Sally moved a little higher so she could try and find the snitch. She tried not to be distracted by the quaffle as it flew from player to player and got closer to one of the goals. She did make sure to be aware of the bludgers so she wouldn't get hit.

Finally, Sally saw a glimmer of gold near the north end of the field. She went straight towards it, dodging other players as they flew past her. Unfortunately the Slytherin's seeker had spotted it as well, and was already flying straight to the golden snitch. Sally tried to pick up speed on her broom, leaning forward and focusing on only the golden snitch. The other seeker barely dodged a bludger which slowed him down, and Sally was able to get ahead.

However, Sally didn't see a beater hit that same bludger, sending it straight in her direction. All her attention was on the golden snitch which was coming closer and closer as she flew. The bludger did however, and it was only at the very last minute did Sally see the bludger slam into her shoulder. The force was so hard it knocked Sally off her broom.

As the bludger hit Sally, she heard a sickening crack mixed with the dull thud of it hitting her shoulder. She scrabbled to get back onto her broom, but that was already beginning to drop like a penny. She fell too, falling fast to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground, and she rolled onto her side that hadn't exploded in an excruciating pain. Her face was contorted in pain as she lay on the floor. Her head throbbed in pain from when she had hit it against the ground. The game stopped as she laid there on the floor, and Slytherin won by default.

Sherlock did come to see the game. He quickly picked out Sally's figure in the sky and watched her go after the snitch. His gaze flickered over to the beaters and saw one send a bludger in Sally's direction. He shouted out even though Sally wouldn't hear him and cursed when she was knocked off her broom. He winced as Sally hit the floor and made a note to visit her in the hospital wing as soon as possible. He would deal with the Slytherin beater later.

Later that day he went to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey gave him the okay to go in and see Sally. He walked to where Sally's bed was a worried look on his face. "Sally? Are you all right?"

Sally looked up at Sherlock and gave him a faint smile. Her arm was in a white sling, and her body was covered in bruises of varying colours. She had small cuts and grazes over her cheek which were held together with steri-strips while one of Madame Pomfrey's enchantments began to work.

"I think so, despite a dislocated shoulder and three cracked ribs," she said with a weak smile.

Sally chuckled softly, but stopped abruptly as it hurt her injured ribs.

Sherlock nodded slowly, offering a kind smile. "Good, I was worried," he said.

He wouldn't normally admit that to anyone, but Sally was becoming more like a friend now. He wasn't going to admit that however.

"I saw what happened on the field," Sherlock said, stepping closer so he could sit on the edge of the bed. "One of the beaters sent that bludger right in your direction. It was a dirty move and he put you in the hospital wing." His nostrils flared slightly at the memory and he said, "It's unforgivable. I'm going to challenge him to a duel and I promise you I will win."

Sally shuffled up on the bed so that he could sit down, she looked at him with a soft gaze until he said that he was going to duel the beater. Sally shook her head at him.

"No, Don't do it," she said firmly.

She didn't want her only friend to go after him and potentially get expelled.

"You don't have to go after him," she spoke calmly.

"Yes I do," said Sherlock stubbornly. "I'm not going to let such a cruel move slide. Besides, I won't kill him. I only want to make sure he's learned his lesson," Sherlock explained. "No one deserves to be bullied to the point of hospitalization."

She groaned.

"No. I don't want you to, okay?" She snapped at him.

For once, she had dropped her usually happy and calm exterior to actually getting angry with Sherlock. She sat up in the hospital bed and frowned at him. She groaned slightly from the pain in her side but stayed sat up.

"I don't want you to go after him."

Sherlock shook his head. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, but he did. And he did want to make that beater pay.

"I'm doing it for you, Sally," he said firmly.

He wasn't going to argue about this any longer.

"Just get some rest. I'll come visit you later."

With that he got to his feet and left the hospital wing.

Sally sighed and flopped back onto the bed. She didn't want him to go after him, but if he really had to then fine. She just wouldn't talk to him as frequently afterwards. She rolled onto her uninjured side before closing her eyes and curling up in the bed. She was going to do as he said and get some rest so that she would heal. But she was determined that if he came to visit her she wouldn't talk to him, he could just talk at her.

Sherlock found Moriarty later that evening. He cornered him in the Slytherin common room and challenged him to a duel. The two agreed to meet in an empty class room in the dungeons and an hour later they did so. Both raised their wands and the fight began.

Moriarty began with an offensive spell while Sherlock countered with a disarming spell. The two spells collided and there was a small bang as a result. Then it was followed up by a series of defensive spells and offensive spells until finally Sherlock managed to disarm Moriarty. He grabbed his wand and pointed it back towards Moriarty as he said, "I'm going to take you to the hospital wing, and you are going to apologize to Sally. Understand?"

"So that's what the duel was for? Just so you could make me apologize to a stupid Hufflepuff?"

Sherlock pressed the tip of his wand against Moriarty's Adam's apple. "Don't call her stupid," he growled. "You're going to apologize. And you'll get your wand back when you do."

"Fine..." said Moriarty, knowing that he was helpless without a wand. He had no choice but to oblige.

Sherlock took him to the infirmary, keeping Moriarty in front of him where he could see him. They went in and Sherlock brought Moriarty to Sally's bed.

"Now apologize," ordered Sherlock.

Moriarty glared at Sherlock and then turned to look at Sally. "Sorry for knocking you off your broom...it's not my fault you're a weak Huff-" he was cut off when he felt the tip of a wand at the back of his neck. "I mean, sorry. It-It was my fault."

"And?" Sherlock pressed.

"And I won't do it again?" Moriarty hoped that was enough.

"Better. Now get out."

Moriarty gladly left after Sherlock gave him his wand back.

Sherlock turned to face Sally and said, "We only fought until he was disarmed. I wanted to make him apologize to you."

Sally stayed on her side and ignored Sherlock. She didn't want to talk to him, especially after he had gone against her wishes and duelled with the beater. She played with the fabric of her sling while she ignored him. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't, not at all. Ever. She didn't like people who duelled with people after she had said that she didn't want him to.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. The one time he had managed to make a friend, he was already close to losing one. And Sally was the first friend he had in a very long time.

He kept his eyes on Sally as he spoke, "I'm sorry, all right. I will admit that I do think of you as a friend, and I thought friends were supposed to help friends. I guess I just went the wrong way about it. I'm sorry."

He swallowed, hoping she would forgive him at least a little bit.

Sally slowly rolled back onto her back and looked at Sherlock. She wasn't even trying to conceal the smile on her face that had arrived when Sherlock had admitted to thinking that she was his friend. She rubbed her face before looking at him with soft, brown eyes. "Friends are supposed to help friends, but I didn't want you to duel with him..." She mumbled. She looked at him before slowly looking away from him.

"I know, and I shouldn't have done that," said Sherlock solemnly. "I can't forgive guys like that, but I won't duel them again if you don't want me to."

She gave him a gentle smile before sitting up in the bed. "Please don't... I don't want you to get hurt because of a duel..."

He gave a small smile back as he said, "I promise I won't, then."

Sherlock wanted to say something more but Madam Pomfrey came up to shoo him away since his visiting time was up.

He gave Sally a wave and said, "See you later," before he let the elderly witch escort him out the doors.

Sally smiled as he left and gave him a small wave back before Madame Pomfrey cast a light sleeping spell over her so that she didn't feel any pain if she rolled onto the wrong side.

Three weeks passed in a blur. Sally and Sherlock grew closer and spent most of their time together, apart from their lesson time – but still, they stayed at each other's sides. One of their lessons was cancelled and Hufflepuff and Slytherin were split into four groups - boys and girls for each house. Sally stood in the back of the huddle of Hufflepuff girls, wondering who she would get partnered with.

Sherlock shifted nervously as he stood with the rest of the Slytherin boys. He was wearing his tie this time and his palms were sweating for a reason he didn't know. He was also secretly hoping he would get paired up with Sally, if she was even there that day. Sherlock scanned the group of Hufflepuff girls and thought he saw her standing among them. He swallowed and fumbled with his tie again before a fellow Slytherin elbowed him and told him to quit acting like a girl. He only returned a glare before waiting patiently for the attending professor to give the signal to partner up.

Sally lingered in the back of the group while waiting for the other girls to partner up with the most attractive males. She looked down at the ground and played with the hem of her jumper. Eventually all of the girls and boys were partnered up, and she didn't have anyone. She even thought that Sherlock had a partner. Sally sniffed sadly before looking up and brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Sherlock lost sight of Sally in the frenzy of everyone trying to find a partner. Once more people had partnered up, he finally spotted her standing to the side and went over.

He tried not to look nervous as he flashed a smile and asked, "Want to be my partner?"

She looked up at him and gave him a soft smile. She moved slightly closer to him before completely blushing a bright shade of pink.

"I would love to be your dance partner," she said gently.

Sally softly rested her hand against his shoulder and tenderly took his other hand.

Sherlock made a soft sigh of relief and stepped back along with Sally, pulling her into a gentle dance.

"I don't usually dance, so I apologize in advance if I step on your feet, not that I will of course," Sherlock said the last part quickly.

She smiled gently as she moved along in time to the music with him.

"Back home my parents always taught me how to dance in their spare time between jobs and meetings," she said sadly.

She stayed close to him, using her hair to hide her blush.

"Yeah?" Sherlock smiled as he held her while they danced. "My mother made me take lessons when I was younger, but once I started school they couldn't make me do it," he explained.

Sherlock tentatively pulled her into a gentle embrace, hoping he wasn't going too far or anything.

"Is this okay?" he asked warily.

Sally nodded as she moved close to him. She slowly let his hand go before slowly wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She looked up at him momentarily before looking away from him and blushed. She had a soft smile on her lips before closing her eyes. She was happy to be dancing with him, even if it was the only time that she could dance with him. He probably already had a date!

He held her in silence for a few moments, not knowing what else to say. He did like dancing with her like this. There was a comfortable feeling between them that he knew was something only friends had. He was sure of it. After a few more moments passed he drew back his head to look at Sally.

"You doing okay?" he asked her.

Sally looked up at Sherlock and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm doing okay," she said gently.

This was the first time that she had felt comfortable around someone, especially when their arms were around her waist and she was dancing with them. She looked up at him and sighed.

"Are you planning on going to the Yule ball?" She asked shyly.

Sherlock was a little surprised at the question, not because she was asking about the Yule Ball, but because she was asking him if he was going.

He shrugged and said, "Well I don't really have a date...but I might go."

Sally smiled softly. When the bell rang to signify the end of the lesson and the end of the school day Sally removed her arms from around his shoulders and sighed.

"Meet me in the room of requirement later on?" She asked him shyly.

"I will," he said with a nod.

He had actually gone looking for the room where Sally had said she found his violin, and he was surprised to discover it was the Room of Requirement. He had some knowledge of it due to overhearing conversations between older students. So he knew where it was. Sherlock gave Sally a wave goodbye before he left the classroom. He went to the Great Hall to get some food first and waited until the halls were a little emptier before going to find the Room of Requirement. To his surprise, there was already a doorway visible. He wondered if that meant Sally was inside already, so he opened the door and went into the room.

Sally was already in the room of requirement. She was sat at a large mahogany piano with her fingers dancing over the ivory keys. She had a serene expression on her face as she sat there playing Canon in C by Johann Bach. Her blonde hair was like gold as she sat there, a window had appeared in the room and the moonlight was shining down onto her and the piano. Who knew that a room could be so annoying? She stayed sat there as she played, wondering when Sherlock would be coming to the room so that she could ask him a very important question.

Sherlock heard music playing when he came into the Room of Requirement. His gaze went right to the source of the sound and he smiled. It was Sally playing piano. He didn't want to disrupt her in the middle of the song she was playing, so he stood still and silent until the song ended.

Then he spoke, "Hey Sally. That was quite beautiful."

Sally jumped when she heard his deep voice and smiled. She slowly shuffled up on the stool so that Sherlock could sit down while she played a more modern song. Her fingers were slender, but the skin of her palm was calloused from paying quidditch.

"Hey you," she smiled.

Sally looked at him as she kept playing, the soft melodies filling the large room.

"I was wanting to ask you something,"

Sherlock took a seat in the spot Sally provided and looked at her face rather than her hands skimming the piano keys. He thought she played really well and considered bringing his Violin here sometime. That is if they decided to meet here again. They should, anyway, Sherlock thought. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sally asked him a question.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

Sally smiled faintly before looking down at the keys of the piano. She was trying to mask her nerves by playing. She chewed on her lip while thinking of a way to phrase her question without it seeming too awkward.

"Sherlock..." She muttered as she stopped her playing. "I wanted to know if you would care to come to the Yule ball with me," she asked gently.

He wasn't as surprised by the question as he was glad that she was asking him. He felt a smile creep onto his lips and let it come, nodding a yes.

"Yes I would," he said.

Sally looked nervous as hell as she asked him, but a relieved look washed over her face when he said yes. Sally grinned at him before hugging him tightly.

Sherlock returned the hug and held her close for a moment.

Then he pulled back to ask, "By the way...In the classroom today, that wasn't our first dance, was it?"

He meant it in a teasing way because he knew that their first dance would really be at the Yule Ball.

Sally chuckled, shaking her head slightly. She had a smile on her face as she shook her head.

"No, it wasnt," she smiled.

Sally rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Sally wondered what Sherlock would wear to the ball, especially since she knew what she was wearing.

Sherlock smiled and let his gaze drift around the room before letting it fall back onto the piano. He wondered if Sally had meant to have the room be a music room or if it was the room's idea. Either way, it was still beautiful. He thought his violin would fit well in here that is if they decided to keep it as a music room.

Sherlock got an idea and spoke, "Sally, if I brought my violin here, would you mind if I played something for you?"

She smiled at him.

"You're going to make me swoon Holmes!" She laughed before smiling at him. "I think it would be nice if you brought it here! I think we'd be good playing with each other," she said happily. She stopped and blushed as she realised how dirty that sounded, "Not play with each other, but play our instruments together," she babbled.

He chuckled. Sherlock couldn't help thinking Sally was quite cute when she got all flustered.

"I know what you mean," he assured her. "I'd love to play my violin while you play the piano. You already play so beautifully." He smiled warmly at her.

She smiled adoringly at him before turning back to the piano. She was only turning back to the piano so that he couldn't see her blushing from embarrassment and nerves.

"I think it'll be nice," she smiled.

Sherlock glanced at the piano and back to Sally.

"So when did you start learning to play the piano?" he asked conversationally.

She looked up and frowned, "Honestly, I can't remember. I think it was around when I was five," she shrugged.

"Well that explains how well you play, if you've been playing for that long," said Sherlock with fondness.

She smiled at him before standing up. "Want to get some more dance practise in so that we don't step on each other's toes?"

He stood up as he said, "That would be good. I really don't want to step on your feet."

He smiled and suddenly music started playing on its own in the room. Sherlock looked around to see where it was coming from but he couldn't detect a source.

"Strange...but it works for right now, I suppose," he said after a moment.

Sally smiled before slowly moving closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She wanted to dance close to him so that she could feel his warmth against her.

"I don't think that you will, I think it will be me that steps on your feet," she chuckled.

"Either way, I rather like dancing with you," he said while wrapping his arms around her waist.

He swayed slowly with her along to the music the room was playing for them.

Sally eventually let the music take her, she rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat as her eyes closed. She was in complete bliss as they danced.

Sherlock rested his chin on the top of her head and moved along with the music. Soon the song ended and Sherlock was a little saddened, but he reminded himself that they would be able to dance more at the ball. He realized how relaxed he felt right now, in the Room of Requirement with Sally. It was their haven now, wasn't it?

"Sally, we should come here more often. I like in here, just the two of us," he voiced his thoughts.

Sally smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'd like that... I'd like that a lot," she murmured sleepily.

Even though it had just turned nine o'clock, Sally was very tired and just wanted to go to sleep. But she liked being in the warmth of Sherlock's caring embrace as he danced with her.

He chuckled lightly at Sally's sleepy voice.

"Sleepy, are you?" he asked, raising his chin and looking down at her head. "Maybe it's time for us to get some rest?"

She nodded. "Yeah, maybe," she murmured before reluctantly letting Sherlock go so that she could get ready to leave the room. "I'll see you here tomorrow at the same time?"

"Sounds excellent," he affirmed with a nod.

He didn't want to leave but he knew he had to as it was getting a little late for both of them and they didn't want to get caught coming out of a room that was supposed to be their special place.

Sally smiled tiredly at Sherlock before walking to the large door and pushed it open. She smiled at him one more time before leaving the room and slowly walking to her common room. It was one week until the Yule ball, and Sally was happy now that she had a date that she cared about.

The time came for the Yule Ball and Sherlock was in the boys' dorms. He had already put on his suit and he was now looking at his green Slytherin tie. He would wear it not for the ball, but for Sally. That was the only reason. He put on his tie and checked himself in the mirror. He hadn't told anyone who he was going with and thankfully no one had bothered to ask. Besides he was too excited about seeing Sally to worry about others' judgement.

Sherlock left the dorms and went to the Great Hall. He loosened his tie because he felt like it was choking him with nervousness. He arrived and stood outside the stairwell, scanning the crowd for Sally. He didn't know what she would be wearing and he didn't know if he would recognize her, and he hoped he wouldn't mess this up.

He really didn't want to mess tonight up with Sally. It was supposed to be a special night for both of them anyway. It was technically a date, if he thought about it in a muggle sense. Then he quickly reprimanded himself for being an idiot, since plenty of witches and wizards went on dates too. He shook his head mentally, telling himself to stop thinking so much and just focus on waiting for Sally. He took a few deep breaths before returning his attention to spotting Sally when she came down the stairs.

Sally was shaking with nerves. She was working up a sweat from just pacing. She was worried about what Sherlock was going to think of her. Sally was planning on not walking down the stairs to see Sherlock, but she had to. She smiled softly as she straightened her dress out. Sally wore a nude dress, with white flowers over it which hugged her body up to half way down her thighs which then flared out in a fragile, sheer nude net. Her shoes were black, and in her hair she wore a dark green pin to hold it back in its style as a symbol of Sherlock and hers friendship. As she stepped down the stairs, her nerves grew and grew until she stood in front of him.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

Sherlock's breath caught in his throat as he saw Sally in her dress. She looked very beautiful; the most beautiful Sherlock had ever seen her. His brain reminded him that she had said hello and he needed to respond.

"Hello," he said with a slight blush. "You look amazing."

Sally smiled shyly at him before looking down at her dress.

"How do I look?" She asked gingerly.

She looked up at him with soft eyes before looking over his shoulder to see people filtering into the great hall as the dance began to start.

Sherlock gave her a bemused look and said, "I just said you looked amazing. But that may be an understatement. You look way more than amazing."

He winked at her and looked towards the dance floor.

"The dance has just started. We should join them."

"We should," she said in agreement.

Sally tenderly placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and began to lead him to the doors which lead into the great hall. Inside, many people were laughing and dancing.

Sherlock nodded and walked with Sally into the Great Hall. It truly looked like a white Christmas at Hogwarts. There were streamers with all the house colours as well as Christmas colours like red and green. The enchanted ceiling even gave the illusion of snow falling down to the floor. Sherlock couldn't stop himself from smiling as he walked onto the dance floor with Sally. Then he took her into his arms and started to dance to the song currently playing.

Sally smiled up at Sherlock as they danced. It felt as if everyone around them no longer existed and they were the only couple. She couldn't stop smiling at him. Sally found it incredibly hard to not step on his feet while dancing, and she hadn't even noticed his wonky tie.

Sherlock lost himself in Sally's eyes as he danced across the floor with her. He was content with this, and he hoped it would last a long time. He was careful to avoid stepping on her toes which proved difficult due to their closeness. He barely managed to avoid doing so and it went well, for a little while at least.

Then a harsh voice cut through his reverie.

"Oi! Holmes!" Sherlock blinked and turned his head, slowing down his movements.

He saw Jim Moriarty glaring at them both and he immediately tensed up.

"What do you want?" he snapped at Moriarty.

"I want to know what you're doing," he sneered as he continued, "Dancing with a fucking mudblood!"

His eyes flashed in anger and his lips twitched into a snarl.

"This 'fucking mudblood,' as you so eloquently put it, happens to be my girlfriend," he hissed. "And I have every right to do whatever I want, and I highly suggest you avoid addressing her in such a foul manner if you want to keep your organs intact."

"Well...looks like we've found filth in the honourable house of Slytherin," retorted Moriarty.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and said, "You already had it."

He was tempted to pull out his wand but it was in his dorms and he didn't want to get into another fight.

So he finished with "You're causing a scene. I'd piss off if I were you."

Sally felt tears sting her eyes, and the familiar name dropped over her like a grey cloud. Sally quickly let go of Sherlock and began to walk through the crowd with her head down and shoulders slumped. She hated it. She didn't like being called names but if that was what was going to happen to her if she was seen with Sherlock, then she didn't want to be seen with him. Sally walked quickly before entering the room of requirement. She briskly moved over to the comfortable sofa that reminded her of the one that she had back in her London home and curled up on it, sobbing into one of the cushions. Her makeup was smeared over her cheeks from her tears.

Sherlock saw Sally leave in tears and his heart clenched. Moriarty was laughing cruelly as Sally disappeared into the crowd.

"You bastard," Sherlock growled.

He needed to go after Sally so he went past Moriarty without another word. He pushed his way through the crowd as he scanned the Great Hall but Sally was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if she had gone to the Room of Requirement and he decided he would find her there.

He left the Great Hall and hurried down the halls to the Room of Requirement. The door was already present for him so he pulled it open and went inside. The interior had changed and he saw Sally curled up on a sofa. The sight of her broke his heart and he went right to her side, sitting and gathering her up into his arms. He didn't say anything; he just let her cry while he held her.

Sally whimpered into his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders while crying into his shirt. Splotches of black were dotted over his white shirt as she cried. She wasn't even trying to stop crying. She didn't care. She was hurt by Moriarty's cruel words and she was going to let it show.

"What he said was true... I am a mudblood..." She mumbled.

Sherlock had guessed that since Moriarty had said it, but blood status wasn't something he was picky about.

"The proper term is muggle-born," he said not in a condescending way. "And that doesn't make you any less special than you are already. I love you regardless of your blood status, Sally."

He surprised himself since he didn't mean to say it just then, but he really did love her.

"I love you, Sally. You're special to me."

Sally slowly looked up at Sherlock with bloodshot eyes and a red nose. She gave him a weak, yet sad smile. She then looked away from him before looking back at him as he said that he loved her. She smiled at him before finally noticing his wonky tie and began to straighten it up.

"And I love you," she mumbled while looking down.

He smiled as she fixed his tie and reached to take her hand.

He gave it a gentle squeeze and said, "I really mean it though."

He wiped off the remaining tears on Sally's cheeks with a thumb and kept his palm on the side of her face.

"And you still look beautiful."

She laughed before shaking her head.

"No... I'm don't..." She mumbled before looking away from Sherlock. "I didn't look beautiful during the dance, and I certainly don't now..." She said shakily.

The hair broach that was in her hair was falling out, and the green gemstones glittered in the light of the room. Above them some mistletoe manifested, Sally didn't notice.

"Aren't I allowed to have an opinion? I still say you're beautiful, so there," he said with a soft smile.

He decided to pay her back for fixing his tie by gently adjusting her hair broach with both hands so that it was back in place.

"Still beautiful," he said before leaning in to give her a kiss on the lips.

Sally was shocked when she felt his lips against hers, but she melted into his warmth. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she just turned to jelly. He was her first kiss, and her first love.

The kiss was chaste at first, in case Sally didn't want it just yet. Then he felt her arms come around his shoulders and took that as a yes. He went deeper into the kiss, tasting her lips with the tip of his tongue. After another few seconds he dared to push his tongue in between her lips, asking for entry to her mouth.

Sally hesitantly parted her lips for his tongue. She wasn't too sure if she wanted to be kissing him like this, but she did anyway. She moved her hands into his hair and pulled on his soft curls.

Sherlock slid it inside and tasted her there. He wrapped his arms around her a little more tightly, taking in the warmth of her body and the softness of her lips. Then he drew back, realizing he hadn't said it yet.

"Merry Christmas, Sally," he whispered.

Sally's face was still a little blotchy from the crying but when he looked at her she smiled.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Sherlock," she said gently.

Her heart was hammering in her chest as she relaxed into his firm grip and rested her head against his shoulder.

Music started playing in the room again. This music was slow and gentle and very relaxing. Sherlock realized they technically hadn't finished their first dance.

"You know...we didn't get to finish our first dance," he said. "Would you like to dance with me, Sally?"

Sally smiled gently and nodded. But her feet were hurting from her shoes, so she slowly took them off and stood up.

"I would love to dance with you," she said lovingly.

Sherlock smiled and when Sally took off her shoes, he did the same.

"It would hurt more if I stepped on your foot with shoes on now," he explained.

He stood up and held out a hand for Sally to take before guiding her out to the middle of the room.

Sally smiled as he removed his shoes before walking with him to the centre of the room. When they were there Sally wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders and looked up at him.

He smiled and kept his eyes on her as they started to dance. The music was beautiful and it was just right for that moment. There was a slight swell and flourish of piano keys and Sherlock realized it was coming from the piano in the corner of the room. The piano was obviously enchanted, and he was glad for it. He danced slowly with Sally, skilfully avoiding treading on her toes.

Sally danced just as well, staying on her tiptoes so that Sherlock didn't stand on the hem of her dress. She looked up at him before kissing Sherlock softly on his smooth lips.

He was a little surprised that Sally kissed him again, but he returned the kiss equally. The music in the room slowed down a little more and changed to a slightly different tune. Sherlock was starting to wonder if the room had a mind of its own and was doing it on purpose. Whether it did or not, it was working well. Then he felt the temperature rise slightly in the room as a fire materialized on one side of the room. It was a brick fireplace and in front of it was a sofa and a side table next to it. On the side table were two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

"Well...the room really does have a mind of its own," he said with amusement. "Want some hot chocolate?" he asked Sally.

Sally looked at the hot chocolate and nodded. "Yeah, I'd really like some!"

She smiled before pulling Sherlock with her to the sofa and sat down on it. On the sofa was a large knitted blanket which she wrapped tightly around herself before offering to let Sherlock into her warmth cocoon.

Sherlock sat down with Sally and got the two mugs of hot chocolate before scooting closer to her.

He handed Sally a mug and raised his own as he said, "Cheers."

He smiled and waited for Sally to raise her glass before taking a sip.

Sally raised her own mug, spilling some of it on her but she didn't really notice then she took a large sip of the sweet, chocolate-y liquid. She hummed as it trickled down her throat and warmed her up from the inside.

Sherlock let out a sigh of content before relaxing more into the seat with Sally. He looked at the flames in the fire place and then glanced at Sally. He noticed a drop of hot chocolate on the corner of her lips and reached out with a hand to get it. He gently brushed it away with a thumb and then twisted slightly in his seat to lean over and kiss her.

Sally had moved to lean against him on the sofa, and when she saw him moving in to kiss her, Sally didn't refuse at all. She placed her mug down so she didn't spill it before cupping his cheek in her hand.

He smiled and kissed her once more before drawing back to simply relax. He sat with her while looking into the fire. Soon he felt less movement coming from Sally and looked at her. She was fast asleep against him. Sherlock smiled warmly and decided to just let her be for a little bit. He put his own mug besides hers and put an arm around her shoulders. Eventually the flames started making him drowsy and he drifted off to sleep.

Sally stood at the corner of the path where the large, black lamp stood. Her nose and cheeks were red from the bite of the cold, and the whole of the surrounding area was white and the sky was grey with clouds that were filled with snow. She held her hands by her armpits to keep them warm as she stood waiting for Sherlock. Every time that she breathed out her breaths clouded up in front of her face before vanishing. Sally kept looking out for her boyfriend, which was now public.

Sherlock tightened his scarf a little bit as he hurried across the school grounds. He was excited about his date with Sally and he didn't want to keep her waiting too long, if she was there already. Soon he reached the path and spotted Sally who was looking around for him. He shouted out to get her attention as he hurried over.

"Hey Sally! I hope I didn't make you wait too long," he said as he slowed to a halt in front of her. "If I did, I apologize. Are you ready?"

Sally shook her head, but she was too cold to talk. All she wanted to do was go to the Three Broomsticks to have a warm butterbeer and some kissing. Sally moved closer to Sherlock and wrapped her thick, woollen scarf around his neck too before slowly kissing him as she stood on her tiptoes. They still hadn't revealed their relationship to people, but people were beginning to guess that they were, in fact, an item.

Sherlock smiled and leaned down a little so Sally could reach his lips. He was grateful for the extra warmth but that left Sally without a scarf.

"Aren't you colder without the scarf?" He asked her, adjusting the scarf she had given him around his neck. "Here, you can have mine."

He removed his own scarf and gently wrapped it around Sally's neck before kissing her on the nose.

"Fancy a drink at the Three Broomsticks?" He offered.

Sally nodded eagerly. "Yes! A drink there would be absolutely amazing!"

She was excited about Sherlock and her having a drink at the three broomsticks. She looked down at his scarf around her neck and smiled before looking at the varying shades of pink, oranges and browns that were in her scarf. Sally kissed his cheek before taking a gentle hold of his hand and beginning to walk with him down the path.

"The pinks really suit you," she chuckled.

He blushed. Really, as a male he should feel insulted by that but he wasn't. It was Sally's scarf and he was wearing it for her after all. He didn't mind. He gave Sally's hand a gentle squeeze as he walked with her to the main street. He looked around quickly for the Three Broomsticks and led her there, finding a table when they got inside.

He smiled and asked, "Butterbeer then?"

"I hear that the Three Broomsticks has the best butterbeer," she smiled.

Sally interlocked her fingers with his and bumped into him as they walked. She let out a quiet giggle as she did and looked as if she hadn't done anything wrong. As they walked into the centre of the small village she took a deep breath though her nose and smiled. She could smell the most delicious scent in the air. It was that of wood smoke coming from the three broomsticks and the smell of chestnuts roasting. Then they walked into the three broomsticks.

Sherlock ordered them two bottles of butterbeer and as an addition, some roasted chestnuts. Once they had their orders, he let Sally sit down first before sitting as well. He slid Sally's bottle towards her with a smile. Then he took a chestnut, ignoring the heat burning into his fingers, and popped it into his mouth. "This is nice," he said with a content sigh. He was glad to be relaxing with Sally and not having to worry about other students bothering them. Their relationship wasn't really a secret, but they didn't really flaunt it either. Sherlock liked it that way.

Sally liked it that way too. Sally picked up one of the hot chestnuts and put it into her mouth. Sally looked at Sherlock and smiled as she crunched the chestnut and hummed as its heat spread through her mouth. Sally kissed his cheek before swallowing. "You know, you're an amazing dancer," she smiled.

"Me?" He snorted and shook his head. "I'm nothing if decent. I wouldn't say amazing though," he said modestly. "You're better than I am, anyway. You also play beautiful music." He smiled as that made him remember something and he said, "You know, we still need to play together, your piano and my violin."

Sally smirked faintly before nudging him playfully with her elbow. "We could always just play together in other ways," she winked. Sally picked up her butterbeer and sipped it before looking at Sherlock again. "Or we could play each other's _instruments_," Sally was cracking up. She had a grin on her face and she was trying oh so hard to not laugh. She didn't really like her laugh, and she didn't think that Sherlock would like it either.

Sherlock chuckled into his butterbeer and gave Sally a wry grin. He could tell she was trying not to laugh and he nudged her in the side gently with an elbow.

"I bet I can make you laugh," he said flirtatiously.

Then with that, he took a large drink of his butterbeer, being sure to leave a foamy moustache above his lips. He looked at Sally as he set down his bottle and grinned, hoping that would do the trick.

Sally laughed at Sherlock, properly laughed before she pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. She licked off the sweet tasting foam from his lips before pulling away slowly. "You can make me do other things other than laugh," she purred.

"Yeah?" he smirked a little and leaned forward.

He kissed the corner of her mouth and pulled back to ask, "Can I make you squeal?"

He tickled her under her ribs hoping to get a squeal out of her.

Sally didn't squeal, but she did squeak as he tickled her ribs. She wiggled in the seat before grabbing Sherlock's hands and sitting on him. "No!" She laughed. "I don't like being tickled!"

He grinned and said, "Well I got something out of you at least."

He kissed her on the cheek and tickled her a little more just to tease her. Then he took another drink of his butterbeer and took a chestnut. He held it up in front of Sally waiting for her to open her mouth.

Sally opened her mouth for him to put the nut into her mouth. She rested her hands against his chest, letting his warmth spread through her hands. She leaned her head against his shoulder after he placed the chestnut in her mouth.

"Well, I'll have to give you that," she smiled.

He took a chestnut for himself and listened to the crunching sound as he crushed it between his teeth. He washed it down with some more butterbeer and took a glance outside. The ground was being covered with another blanket of snow and it looked thick enough for someone to sink in a little more than ankle deep.

"I have an idea but it involves going back outside," said Sherlock. "We can stay in here or go out and have some fun in the snow."

Sally pouted at Sherlock before finishing her beer. "Can we stay in here a little longer before we go outside? My face is still cold from waiting for you!"

She kissed his cute nose. Sally sat up and looked out of the window then at Sherlock. She had a devilish grin on her lips as she placed the money for their chestnuts and beers on the table and stood up.

"Of course. I'm still sorry about that, I came as fast as I could," said SHerlock.

He finished his own butterbeer and ate one last chestnut before standing up along with Sally. He took her hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"I promise we'll go somewhere warm after this. I think you'll have fun, though," he said with a smile.

Sally nodded before she pulled Sherlock outside with her into the bitter cold. She was glad that she had gloves on, but she wasn't too happy about the weather being so icy. "I'm going to regret coming outside with you aren't I?" She asked him.

"Maybe..." he said, pretending to be serious. As he led her down and towards the woodsy area, he said, "Or maybe not."

Then he scooped up a hand full of snow and patted it together, turning towards Sally with a wicked grin on his face.

"It's playtime!" he tossed the ball towards her hoping he had gotten her by surprise.

Sally noticed him make the snowball and ran away from him, laughing as she did before she stumbled on a root covered by the thick layer of snow. She fell onto her front before getting right back up again and hiding behind a tree to make her own snowball. She compressed it in her gloved hands before looking out from the side of the tree.

Sherlock knew the snowball would probably miss anyway, so as soon as he released that first one he bent down to make a couple more. When he looked up again Sally had already hidden away. He quickly moved to a tree as a tactical manoeuvre, because now at least Sally couldn't get him from one side. He looked around and saw footprints leading to one of the trees so he hurled one snowball in that direction.

Sally hid behind the tree when Sherlock threw the snowball at her before throwing one at him. She was fighting to stifle her giggles. She stooped down low to make another snowball to get him with. Sally slowly moved between the trees until she was at the other side of the tree that he was behind.

Sherlock saw the snowball coming and was convinced that he had found Sally. He narrowly dodged it and suspected that Sally had moved from her spot. There was no way she would be staying where he had discovered her. He came out from behind the tree and hurled one to a tree nearby Sally's first one.

Sally threw her snowball at him from where she was and laughed before hiding away again. Her cheeks and nose were red as she hid away again. She moved around to stand behind him and stuffed a handful of snow down the back of his shirt before running away and hiding again. She sniggered quietly and grinned.

Sherlock felt cold snow hit his back and whirled around as he heard a laugh. He saw Sally disappear behind a tree and bent down to make a small snowball. He stood up to throw the ball in the direction Sally had gone but then felt cold snow get shoved down his back. He whirled around and threw the ball hoping he would get Sally.

She did get hit by the snowball just before she managed to hide away again. Sally made one more snowball, mainly because her fingers felt as if they were about to snap off. She shivered slightly before throwing it. Her hands were shaking from the cold, and she just wanted to go back inside to the warmth and to just talk.

Sherlock was glad Sally had decided to make one with him. After their snow angels were done enough, he carefully removed himself from his spot without ruining his work. He helped Sally do the same and then looked at their angels with a slight frown.

"Hold on...the wings look a little odd..."

He took out his wand and waved it, muttering a short spell to manipulate the wings into looking more natural and still connected, as if they were holding each other.

"There!" He smiled and put away his wand. "What do you think?" He asked Sally.

Sally looked at their two angels and smiled.

"They look perfect, just like us!" She said cheerily.

Sally hugged Sherlock tightly around the waist and smiled even more. She closed her eyes and sighed. She enjoyed being with Sherlock. It was heaven. Sally moved away from Sherlock before pecking his lips quickly.

"So, where do you want to go now?" She asked him as she pulled the scarf she was wearing closer.

"Hmm..."

he slid a hand into hers and interlocked his fingers with hers.

"How about somewhere warm? I bet you're cold," he said knowingly. "Even your hand feels cold."

He gave it a gentle squeeze and looked up towards the sky which was slowly turning into dusk.

"Want to go back to the school? It's getting dark," he said a moment later.

Sally nodded slowly and spoke, "Yes please."

Sally was icy. She just wanted to get back into the common room to get warm and have a large mug of hot chocolate. She slowly pulled him towards the school and looked over her shoulder to him. She stopped walking eventually and pulled him close to her.

"Tomorrow I won't be able to meet you in the room of requirement..."

"All right then," he walked with her still holding her hand.

He stopped when she did and raised a brow at her statement.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"I have an after class session," she shrugged.

She didn't think it was a big deal so why shouldn't she let him know?

"That should be fine," he said with a slight nod. He was curious to know more though. "What for though?" he asked.

She gave him a pained look, like she didn't exactly want him to know all of the details.

"I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled.

His brows furrowed in concern.

"You can talk to me about anything, Sally," he tried to assure her. "I just want to know. Besides, it can't be so bad that you can't tell me, right?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" She exclaimed.

Sally shook her head. She didn't want to talk to him about it, so she just turned away from him and began to walk quickly towards the school. She held herself tightly, shivering a lot.

He frowned again. He decided maybe Sally just needed some space. He would find her after her session tomorrow. Then maybe she would be willing to talk about what was going on. He continued on back to the school and headed back to his own common room.

Sally slowly walked back to her common room, dreading to see Sherlock the next day. She knew he would question her about it so she thought that she would just try to avoid him.

After her session she walked out of the classroom, hiding her tear streaked face and walked in the direction of her common room.

The next day, Sherlock went through his classes in a distracted state. He was a little worried about Sally and still planned on questioning her when classes were over. After his last class, he went to the hall that led to the Hufflepuff Common Room and waited for Sally to appear. When he saw her, he immediately went to her. His worry became greater when he saw the tears on her face.

"Sally, what's wrong?!" he asked, deeply concerned.

"Just leave me alone!" She mumbled. Sally looked at him and walked straight passed him. She hugged her books close to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. She really didn't want to talk to him about it. She would rather it just become a forgotten subject between the pair. She would have preferred it.

Sherlock was getting frustrated now. Didn't Sally trust him enough to talk about things? He went after her, taking her by the arm but not too hard.

"Hey, come on. Talk to me," he said insistently. "What happened? You're not failing a class are you?" he asked, trying to guess at what might be going on.

Sally pulled her arm from his grip and shook her head. "I just don't want to talk about it!" She said again. She didn't like how he was so insistent to get information from her. She just wanted to go to sleep in her room and not wake up for a very long time.

He scowled at her, anger rising. "I thought you might trust me enough to talk to me about these things," he hissed. "But I guess you're so ashamed of your own incompetence that you can't even admit it to me."

Sally looked at him again, the tears now returning. She was quite obviously hurt. "No, it's because I didn't want you to know that I'm failing one of my classes and I'm putting in even more hard work to get the grade that I need!" She said icily to him.

He snorted derisively. "I knew it. I find it quite pathetic you couldn't tell me that."

He shook his head, his anger and hurt coming to a peak. If Sally needed help, she could have just gone to him. He was her boyfriend after all. He was there for her. Besides, he knew a great deal more about the subject Sally was studying since he was in a higher year.

"I value trust in a relationship, but if you can't trust me with this kind of stuff, then I'm not sure I want to have one with you."

"Then goodbye Sherlock, because I could never trust someone who calls someone pathetic because they're ashamed of themselves for failing a stupid fucking subject!" She shouted at him.

She was completely done with Sherlock and his arrogance. She turned on her heel and walked calmly to her common room before curling up on her bed and pulling the pillow over her head. She didn't want to see him again. She just wanted to forget that anything had ever happened between them. Sally peaked out from the pillow and saw the moving picture of her and Sherlock on her bedside table before grabbing it and throwing it against the wall, letting the glass shatter.


End file.
